Multiple sclerosis (MS) is often called “the invisible disease.” Unknown to friends, family and co-workers, those with the disease sometimes experience remission of its symptoms, and at other times experience its full onslaught. May is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month and World MS Day is May 31st. To mark these events, pharmaceutical company EMD Serono has utilized a unique educational channel—a virtual reality (VR) experience—to help increase not only awareness of the disease, but for the first time allow others to better understand how people experience some of its symptoms.

MS from the InsideOut engaged a wide range of participants, from media to medical personnel, to those already living with the disease at Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District. Each participant engaged in a full sensory and auditory experience delivered through stereophonic headphones and state-of-the-art VR headsets. Produced in the UK, this VR experience has been distributed worldwide by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, operating as EMD Serono in Canada.

MS is a degenerative auto-immune disease, involving the inflammation and damage of the myelin sheath around the nerves in the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. The VR experience takes participants deep inside the body’s neural networks so they can visualize these attacks and experience firsthand some of the symptoms it can cause: impaired hearing, vision problems, mobility and cognitive impairment.

At each stop along the neural pathway, participants perceive everyday experiences from the perspective of a person with MS. Enjoying a symphony, for example, the vivid notes of the orchestra are suddenly flattened, truncated and reduced to discordant noise. Fog, blurred vision and distortion destroy the visual appreciation of a summer’s day at the beach. Memories are halted just short of recall. The ability to process stimulus and respond with appropriate movement randomly slows, halts and resumes.

“Our goal in presenting this innovative VR experience is to leave participants with a greater awareness of MS,” says Gaby Murphy, president and managing director, EMD Serono, Canada. “More important, through the experience of full immersion, it will allow them to understand the disease through the filters of Canadians living with MS, and help to create ambassadors who will advocate for patients and for the goal of finding a cure.”

That’s particularly relevant in Canada, where an estimated 100,000 Canadians have been diagnosed with MS, representing the highest incidence of the disease in the world. There is currently no cure. Medical treatment aims to reduce the number of disease relapses and slowing disability progression, while researchers continue to search for methods to ultimately provide a cure.

People with MS were an integral part of the event because the VR experience was also designed to reassure them that they are not alone. Murphy says he was moved by one participant who said that he recognized in the VR experience the moment that MS first took control of his body.

Dr. Daniel Selchen, director, MS Clinic, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto has been treating MS for more than 35 years. The hospital’s MS clinic is the largest in Canada and one of the largest in the world.

“I think it’s very important to remember how disruptive a disease this is for young people who should be entering the peaks of their lives.” Says Selchen.

He’s experienced MS from the Inside Out and says it validates what he’s learned from his interactions with thousands of patients.

“If I could extend the VR experience to any other groups of people I would choose two,” says Dr. Selchen. “Those often closest to the patients—the employers and the families of those with MS.”

Murphy note that 20 years of work in the MS research field didn’t fully prepare him for the VR experience.

“It was an eye opener even for me,” he says. “You can research MS, you can discuss MS, you can make its treatment your life’s work, but when you experience this, it brings a whole new level of understanding. People with MS are at the centre of what we do, but there’s always the opportunity to learn more and feel more. This experience has inspired the entire team at EMD Serono, Canada to a greater commitment to raising awareness and educating Canadians about MS.”

This story was created by Content Works, Postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of a research based pharmaceutical company

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Video

Connect With Us

Share this story

MS from the Inside Out promotes awareness with groundbreaking virtual reality experience